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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29189421">The Fox's Leopard</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilasSolarius/pseuds/SilasSolarius'>SilasSolarius</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>BAMF Senju Tobirama, M/M, Protective Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama, Senju Tobirama Needs a Hug, Tobirama needs help, suboptimal! Hashirama</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 03:27:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,048</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29189421</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilasSolarius/pseuds/SilasSolarius</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>An unlikely encounter leaves Tobirama with a new friend, and may be just what is needed to secure the peace everyone has been yearning for.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama &amp; Senju Tobirama, Senju Hashirama/Uzumaki Mito, Senju Tobirama &amp; Uchiha Izuna, Senju Tobirama/Uchiha Madara</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>646</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Fox's Leopard</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeanBlade/gifts">KeanBlade</a>, <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miray/gifts">Miray</a>.</li>


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23250373">Rabbits of Caerbannog</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeanBlade/pseuds/KeanBlade">KeanBlade</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Prompt by Miray, in KeanBlade's Rabbits of Caerbannog.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>'<em>I shouldn't be doing this.</em>'</p><p>Even as the thought crossed his mind, he knew he was going to do it anyway. It was foolish, quite probably the stupidest thing he'd ever done and yet-</p><p>Moving swiftly, he formed a wall of ice around the injured man before him just in time to block the brunt of <em>rageangerscorch</em> chakra that flew at them hotter than any flame he'd ever been near, including pitch black he'd seen the same man use on the battlefield. A few yards away a snarl left the angry being, majestic as it was furious, scarlet fur bristling as it's nine tails lashed about.</p><p>Stupid.</p><p>Stupid.</p><p>
  <em>Stupid.</em>
</p><p>Worse, he wasn't even meant to be there.</p><p>He'd been returning from a mission when he'd felt them. The Kyuubi (which, <em>what?</em>) whose chakra was lashing and angry full of <em>ragebetrayalscorchpain</em>, so much that his heart had ached for the being even as he'd registered who it was facing.</p><p>Madara.</p><p>
  <em>Madara.</em>
</p><p>Never had he felt his- <em>the</em> Uchiha's <em>steamclovessage </em>chakra so low, so depleted. He'd arrived to find the man wavering on his feet, sharingan spinning slowly as if it couldn't muster the energy to move any faster. He was interfering before he could stop himself and worse, he didn't regret it.</p><p>Didn't make it any less stupid.</p><p>Behind him, he felt Madara lose his battle to stay conscious and cursed, biting his lip as Kyuubi's chakra struck his wall once more, a sharp crack echoing through the air.</p><p>" Kyūbi-sama," He called, hoping beyond hope that the creature would at least let him speak. "Please calm down. This tantrum is beneath one as intelligent as yourself."</p><p>The kitsune snarled, eyes only a few shades lighter than his own glaring down at him.</p><p>"<strong>You would defend your enemy, mortal? Even at the cost of your life? I am not unaware of who you are."</strong></p><p>He didn't flinch, but it was a near thing. Even the biju were aware of his moniker? He truly was a monster and it sent a sharp pain lancing through him. He pushed it away.</p><p>"I would."</p><p>Something curious flashed in the biju's eyes, then it lowered its head, gaze knowing, <em>piercing</em>.</p><p>Was this how people felt when he looked at them?</p><p>"<strong>He does not love you."</strong></p><p>This time the flinch was inevitable, but his voice was steady when he spoke. "I would die for him even still."</p><p>The creature hummed, a low rich bass that sent shivers down his spine. He moved closer to the unconscious Uchiha in response, those scarlet eyes watching him all the while.</p><p>"<strong>The White Demon, they call you. The Senju Ghost. What is your name, kit?"</strong></p><p>"I am Senju Tobirama, Kyūbi-sama."</p><p>The fox began to shrink, his dark voice softening from it roiling baritone to something smoother, almost calming. <strong>"You may call me Kurama."</strong></p><p>He bowed, feeling his lips twitch as the incredulity of the situation caught up with him. "Nice to meet you Kurama-sama."</p><p>The fox, now only as large as one of his younger summons, jumped up onto his shoulder and something in him softened. It must have shown on his face because the kitsune huffed.</p><p>"<strong>Let's return your Uchiha."</strong></p><p>He glanced down at Madara, then sighed and heaved the older man into his arms. Ash-soft hair brushed against his skin and his finger twitched with the urge to comb through the thick locks, before he ruthlessly crushed the impulse. Making sure the little fox was secure on his shoulder, he glanced down at Madara, then took off for the border of their lands. Just as they reached the border, he paused, feeling an Uchiha patrol nearing them. Tightening his grip on the older man briefly, he felt his heart jolt in his chest. Placing the man on the ground, he made a quick decision, one possibly dumber than the one he'd made by interfering with the man's battle with Kyuubi.</p><p>He healed him.</p><p>It was quick, and nowhere near as thorough as he would've liked but it would have to do. Just as he sensed the man beginning to wake he set him down and vanished with nary a sound.</p><p>"<strong>That was incredibly foolish." </strong>Kurama rumbled as they ran back toward the compound. He sighed, shivering as he felt Madara's chakra flare and brush against his own.</p><p>"Oh trust me, I'm aware."</p><p>
  <strong>*/*</strong>
</p><p>Tobirama-Kit needed a keeper.</p><p>In the three weeks since he'd decided to accompany the human many referred to as a Demon, curious about how the other had earned the moniker if he were so willing to sacrifice his life for a man that didn't love him. One that, if he were reading the kit right (and he was), the snow haired boy was in love with. In that time, he'd come to three very important conclusions.</p><p>The first was that the kit needed a keeper.</p><p>When not on the battlefield (and <em>oh, </em>what a sight that was) the child was a health hazard to himself. Twice he'd happened upon him blind from his own doing to test a healing jutsu (geared towards Indra's descendants and their Cursed eyes). In addition, he seemed to go until he either collapsed from exhaustion, or until he was called for a mission or skirmish. He'd also noted that he tended to get wrapped up in his projects forgetting to eat as his thoughts and ideas trapped him in their grasp. Make no mistake, the kit was brilliant, leagues ahead of any ningen he'd ever met, but his self-preservation was abysmal at best and non-existent at worst.</p><p>The next was, Senju Hashirama was just as poor a sibling as Asura had been. Granted, this had at first been influenced by the fact that the man was Asura's reincarnation and the <em>greenlifepurehappyTooMuch </em>of the man's chakra but as time passed he found that not only was the statement true, it was an understatement. Hashirama at times was almost careless in how he spoke to Tobirama, callous words leaving him under the guise of reprimand or teasing. He'd called him everything from needlessly cruel to jokingly calling him emotionally stunted, unaware that the truth in the words was painful to his brother. In addition he gushed about Indra's incarnation as if the sun rose from the man's Will, then berated Tobirama for being too rough with the man's brother when they fought. In consequence, the snow haired man did as he was bid and ended up with injuries he could've avoided. It made him <em>hate</em> Hashirama and (maybe) Madara in a way he'd never been able to hate their previous selves.</p><p>The third was that Senju Tobirama was <em>not </em>a demon.</p><p>Logically, he'd known that the moniker was undeserved but as he grew closer to the younger male, he couldn't help but <em>see </em>him. He saw how some nights the nightmares jolted the man awake, hands trembling and vermillion eyes wet. Saw how his smiles, the truest ones were saved for the rare few that deserved them. Touka with her hard eyes but gentle words, the children, innocent of the whispers and eager to learn from the one adult willing to teach them, and (unfortunately) Hashirama and his wife. He saw the scars, thick and telling across his back, blending with the red swirls tattooed on his moonlit skin. The way, on nights when it was all too much, he would pull well worn papers from his desk, treaties, laws, blueprints, <em>plans </em>and contemplate burning them because <em>it was impossible</em>.</p><p>He saw the anguish, the longing as the kit's pain grew too bad and he wrapped his essence in the <em>steamclovespassion</em> of Madara's chakra.</p><p>Nothing he saw matched the rumors he heard of the man. Rumors that spoke of eyes so cold they were like the gems they were colored after. Of a wraith whose bloodlust was unmatched, stayed only by his brother's compassion.</p><p>Instead, there was only his Tobirama-Kit, who gently pet his fur and fed him fish and rabbits caught in the forests around the Senju compound. Who slowly began to relax around him, confiding in him and yet, never asking him to participate in their trivial human war.</p><p>He watched, but he didn't interfere. He watched as Hashirama and Madara fought each other as if they were sparring. Watched as Izuna, Madara's brother fought Tobirama as if his sole mission were to kill the ice-haired Senju.</p><p>He'd never planned to interfere.</p><p>Then a year after he'd come to live with the Senju, Tobirama-Kit debuted his Hirashin...and struck Izuna down.</p><p>
  <strong>*/*</strong>
</p><p>He couldn't breathe.</p><p>It had happened as if in slow motion. He'd turned as a crack sounded from where Izuna was fighting the Ghost, only for his heart to leap into his throat as Tobirama reappeared blade stabbing through Izuna's side. Not immediately fatal, there was still time and yet-</p><p>He couldn't breathe, couldn't move, his chakra fluctuating wildly. Wide vermillion eyes met his and then-</p><p>
  <em>Then.</em>
</p><p><em>Coolminthealingreen</em> coated pale hands as the Senju heir knelt beside his brother and the wound began to heal. Izuna glared at his savior, a glint of silver flashed near his hand and-</p><p>A roar sounded, the Senju suddenly vanishing from his place at a nearly healed Izuna's side. In his place was a furious scarlet fox, nine tails lashing about furiously as it grew.</p><p>Oh.</p><p>Oh kami.</p><p>What the hell was the Kyūbi doing there?!</p><p>"<strong>YOU DARE?!" </strong>It snarled, and he caught sight of Tobirama wrapped carefully in two of its tails. <strong>"YOU DARE ATTACK MY KIT AS HE HEALS YOU?! FOOLISH NINGEN."</strong></p><p>Oh Izuna, <em>no</em>. That- that wasn't right.</p><p>" Kyūbi-sama-" He interjected hoping to deflect the biju's wrath from his brother and fighting a flinch as that vivid glare turned on him, yet he still shielded Izuna behind him.</p><p>"<strong>Uchiha," </strong>The kitsune rumbled, glancing back as Tobirama muttered something. It's eyes softened, before hardening into a glare once more. <strong>"Be glad you hold a heart I am unprepared to break." </strong>he snarled before his gaze turned on Izuna full of muted fury and barely contained rage.</p><p>"<em><strong>You</strong></em><strong>," </strong>It growled. <strong>"If you </strong><em><strong>ever</strong></em><strong> raise your blade against my kit again, not even a "demon's" love will keep my claws from your throat."<br/></strong></p><p>Izuna swallowed thickly, but Hashirama was speaking before Madara could unpack the biju's statement.</p><p>"Kyuubi-sama, my wife is a powerful fūinjutsu specialist, she will be able to help free you."</p><p>What?</p><p>No, seriously, what the fuck?</p><p>Was he seriously trying to accuse Tobirama, <em>his brother</em>, of binding a biju? Did he even have that kind of power? Slating a glance at the younger Senju, he watched as the man flinched, looking away. Kyuubi snarled at the Clan head and glared down at him.</p><p>"<strong>Fix your shit." </strong>It sneered. <strong>"I will not watch your feud hurt another generation." </strong>It gently released the snow-haired senju, who looked away from them all, a glowing green hand pressed against his side. A brief flash of concern flared through him, and he took a step forward only to stop when the man stiffened and faltered back a step.</p><p>His heart jolted though he didn't know why. Ignoring the feeling, he turned to Hashirama. "What would we need to make a ceasefire work?"</p><p>His friend let out a wail of pure joy and glomped him. With a faint, tumultuous smile he hugged the idiot back trying not to feel the way Tobirama's chakra gave a brief pulse of something like jealousy, especially when he looked back and found the man's face carefully blank.</p><p>
  <strong>*/*</strong>
</p><p>"<strong>Why did you save him, kit? I know you knew what he would do to you."</strong></p><p>He wanted to lie.</p><p>He didn't.</p><p>"He's Madara's only living brother. I couldn't- it's a small price to pay."</p><p>Those scarlet eyes darkened, ancient, sad, <em>knowing</em>.</p><p>"<strong>He doesn't love you." </strong>A gentle reminder and yet it makes his heart ache.</p><p>"I know." He whispered and the answer he gave was the same he'd given when they first met. "I would die for him still."</p><p>The fox's eyes flashed before he grew until he was the size of a large wolf. <strong>"Sleep," </strong>he rumbled. <strong>"I will keep away the pain tonight."</strong></p><p>Lying down, he curled closer to the biju's warmth, feeling <em>steamgingerspice </em>chakra wrap around him, so different from the <em>rageanguishscorch</em> from before. He was asleep in moments.</p>
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